Bridging Finance News:- The redevelopment of a former university campus in Swindon has been given the go-ahead by the borough council.
Nationwide is to build 239 new homes for sale or rent, with 30 per cent as affordable, on the Oakfield Campus.
The area, which has laid vacant for more than ten years, will include a children’s play area and a community meeting space with links to nearby amenities.
Nationwide’s chief executive, Joe Garner, said: “As a building society we were founded to help improve housing, rather than maximising profit and shareholder return. Helping create these new homes and a thriving community is a great example of how we are guided by our purpose of building society, nationwide.”
The homes will comprise mainly terraced houses or maisonettes, with a small block of apartments, including community space. They will all have at least one parking space and either a private garden or access to shared gardens. There will be a mixture of two, three and four-bed homes for sale or rent, as well as 71 affordable one, two and three-bed apartments and houses.
Modern look with traditional materials
Nationwide has partnered with specialist development manager, Igloo Regeneration, and a dedicated design team to deliver contemporary designs using traditional quality materials.
The homes will have plenty of light and space through higher ceilings, larger windows and terraces, and a focus on energy efficiency.
Building is expected to start by the end of the year, with the first phase of homes available from spring 2021.
Swindon Borough council’s cabinet member for strategic planning, Cllr Gary Sumner, said: “This development ticks a lot of boxes for the council and builds on the excellent, and award-winning, design standards we have seen across a number of new developments in Swindon.”
Bridging Finance by HZA
Broker Hank Zarihs Associates said the scheme was in an area of housing need with development finance lenders keen to extend construction loans and short term bridging finance for such projects.
Nationwide is investing about £50m over a number of years, though it aims to break even through sales and rentals, with any profits reinvested in other community projects. The Oakfield initiative is a key part of Nationwide’s five-year social investment programme aimed at ensuring everyone has ‘a place fit to call home’.